AS I WRITE, students from Teheran University have spent the last week protesting a new law meant to stifle freedom of the press. The government’s response has been prompt: Security forces raided a university dormitory, beating students and tossing them out windows. Riots ensued. Yesterday, police fired tear gas at demonstrators as tens of thousands of uniformed and plainclothes security forces, soldiers, Revolutionary Guards, intelligence operatives, and antiriot units with helmets and shields stood by, watching baton-wielding vigilantes and street thugs rampage. Two days ago, eighteen cities throughout Iran reported widespread demonstrations. It is now Wednesday, July 14, and the prevailing sentiment, despite the vehemence of the protests and the reaction of the security forces, is that the ongoing student protests do not represent a full-bore counterrevolutionary movement against the